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Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.
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Canto 10 · Chapter 12: The Killing of the Demon Aghāsura
10.12.2010.12.22

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.12.21

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The boyssince 10.12.19inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

प्रतिस्पर्धेते सृक्कभ्यां सव्यासव्ये नगोदरे ।

तुङ्गश‍ृङ्गालयोऽप्येतास्तद्दंष्ट्राभिश्च पश्यत ॥ २१ ॥

pratispardhete sṛkkabhyāṁ

savyāsavye nagodare

tuṅga-śṛṅgālayo ’py etās

tad-daṁṣṭrābhiś ca paśyata

Translation

On the left and right, the two depressions resembling mountain caves are the corners of its mouth, and the high mountain peaks are its teeth.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Cave-Like Corners and Mountain-Like Teeth

  1. 1

    The boys identified two depressions, one on the left and one on the right.

  2. 2

    These depressions resembled mountain caves and formed the corners of the animal’s mouth.

  3. 3

    What looked like high mountain peaks were its teeth.

How it feels

Peril and pride → Friendship and humility. Divinity is revealed amid intimate childhood play.

Chapters 12–19 of Canto 10: Childhood dangers and Brahmā's amazement. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 12: The Killing of the Demon Aghāsura

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The demon, who had been sent by Kaṁsa, assumed the form of a python, expanding himself to a length of eight miles and the height of a mountain, his mouth seeming to extend from the surface of the earth to the heavenly planets. Having assumed this feature, Aghāsura lay on the road.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.12
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. pratispardhetejust resembling
  2. sṛkkabhyāmwith the corners of the mouth
  3. savya-asavyeleft and right
  4. naga-udarecaves of a mountain
  5. tuṅga-śṛṅga-ālayaḥthe high mountain peaks
  6. apialthough it is so
  7. etāḥ tat-daṁṣṭrābhiḥthey resemble the teeth of the animal
  8. caand
  9. paśyatajust see
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What do these comparisons convey about the size of the animal’s mouth?

Practice

Read the verse slowly, matching each landscape feature with the part of the mouth it describes.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayCave-Like Corners and Mountain-Like TeethThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 10.12.21? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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